Soot cleaner for stovepipe drum ovens



June 20,1939. G. H. SWEARI'NGEN 2,163,358

SOOT CLEANER FOR STV TIPE DRUM OVENS Filed Jan. 3l, 1938 INVEN TOR.

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ATTORNEY Patented June 20, 1939 UNITED PATENT OFFICE SOOT CLEANER FORSTOVEPIPE DRUM'. OVENS George H. Swearingen, Louisville, Ky., assignerto Louisville 'Iin and Stove Company, Incorporated, Louisville, Ky.

Application January 31, 1938, Serial No. 187,957

2 Claims. (Cl. 126-17) This invention relates to soot cleaners for stovepipe drum ovens, and the principal object of the invention is to providesimple, reliable, eiiicient and inexpensive means for removing sootdeposits 5 from such' ovens.

A further object of the invention is to provide a drum and soot cleanerconstruction whereby certain advantages in the use of such drums andcleaners are obtained, as hereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating the invention- Fig. 1 is a sideelevation, with parts broken away and in section, of a pipe oven with asoot cleaner embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a detail section through one end of the drum showing theoperating crank and its mounting.

Fig. 4 is a View of the cleaner per se detached Vfrom the oven.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, I designates a stovepipe oven which is constructed, as usual, with spaced inner and outerannular walls 2 and 3, respectively, said walls having the form ofcylinders providing an annular heat chamber 4 for the passage of thesmoke and products of combustion through the oven. The oven is providedwith an inlet 5 and an outlet 6 communicating with said chamber 4 andwhich in practice connect the oven with sections of a stove pipe leadingfrom a stove to a chimney or flue.

The inner cylinder or wall 2 encloses an oven chamber 1 which isprovided at the front of the oven with a door 8 giving access thereto.The rear end of the oven chamber 1 is closed by a wall 9, connected withthe cylinder 2, while the rear end of the oven body is closed by a wallI0 connected with the cylinder 3.

The door 8 closes an opening formed in an end Wall 8a and forming theentrance to the oven chamber 1. This wall 8a forms the front wall of 4the casing to which the forward end of the oven chamber 1 is attachedand by which said end of the oven chamber is supported. In ovens of thistype it is necessary to provide some suitable fastening or supportingmeans in addition to the fastening connection between the oven chamber 1and the front wall 8a to sustain and prevent said oven chamber fromsagging under its weight plus the weight of its contents and causingbuckling or dishing of the front wall 8a, as well as to prevent thewalls of said chamber from being unduly warped or buckling under theintenseheat. As the use of such fastening or supporting means extendingacross the channel 4 between the walls of the casing and oven chambermust be dispensedv 5 with in employing a rotary type of cleaner in thechannel 4 for obvious reasons, it is necessary,in the use of a rotarycleaner, and in order to prevent such objections, to provide a cleanerwhich,

in addition to its function as a cleaner, will also 10 serve as aneffective support for the oven chamber 1. My invention is thereforeespecially designed to perform this double function.

Mounted for rotary or oscillating movements in the chamber 4 between thecylinders and in 1.5. the space between the walls 9 and I0 is myimproved soot cleaner II. This is of U-form comprising a pair ofparallel scraper arms I2 and I3 and a cross rod or arm I4 connectingsaid arms I2 and I3 at the'rear ends thereof. The parts 20 I2, I3 and I4are preferably formed from a single continuous piece of metal, such as arod, which may be of round or any other suitable cross sectional form.The cross bar I4 is welded or otherwise suitably fastened at a pointintermediate of :25 its length to a shaft I5 which is journaled inbearing'openings in the walls 9 and IB in the line of the axis of theoven and projects outwardly at one end and is provided with an oper-rating crank I6 by means of which the scraper II 30 may be rotated oroscillated.

The scraper arms I2 and I3 are, in accordance with my invention, eachprovided with scraper projections I 1 alternately offset in oppositedirections, that is, inwardly and outwardly, which 35 projections, inthe rotations or oscillations of the scraper, are adapted to bear on theopposed surfaces of the drum walls 2 and 3 to scrape olf the accumulatedsoot deposited thereon. This soot may be allowed to drop back into thestove with 40 which the oven is connected or may be drawn out from thestove pipe into the open atmosphere at periods desired. For the purposeof giving stable support to the scraper and its actuating shaft I5, thewalls 9 and I0 are, as shown, preferably provided with dished bearingoifsets I8, and the shaft is provided with collars or projections I9welded thereto or suitably formed there- Y on to limit its slidingmovement in either direc- 50 tion and prevent its displacement and toproperly guide it in its rotations.

Since th'e cleaner is revolubly mounted in the oven and has noprojecting parts, except the short crank handle I6, it will be evidentthat this cleanu er permits the stove on which the oven is placed to beset closer to the wall than a cleaner which must be reciprocated in itscleaning action, and therefore drawn more or less outwardly from theoven, thus reducing the amount of room oor space occupied by the stove.Also it will be observed that the cleaner may be completely revolved, oroscillated back and forth, or rotated intermittently in a singledirection by motions imparted to the crank handle. The cleaner may, infact, be completely revolved by merely striking the crank several timeswith the `hand or another object until it is turned to a desired degreefor a cleaning action. This avoids the necessity of gripping the crankhandle, which becomes Vextremely hot, in the unprotected hand whileperforming a cleaning action. By the provision ofy the cleaner arms withthe offset vII provision is made for adequately cleaning the opposedsur--` faces of both drum walls 2 and 3, while at the same time theoffsets .give increased strength to `the cleaner arms to reinforce saidarms against distortion under the high heat of the products ofcombustion circulating in the channel 4. It is the .general practice tomanufacture pipe ovens of this character of very light sheet iron whichis easily dented, and, in case an oven equipped with this cleaner doesbecome dented or warped, the cleaner will .still remain serviceable, asthe novel offset construction of the vcleaner arms or blades willV allowthe offsets under flexion of the long rod-like `cleaner arms to passover the dented or warped wall portion so that adequate cleaningmovements can be made. It will, of course, be understood that theconcavo-'convex offset bearing portions I8 provide strength and a longerbearing surface for the shaft I5 `than would be possible if the walls,at this "point were .straight and parallel.

As stated, shaft VI5 is journaled in the Vdished portions of .the rearwalls of both the casing and oven. It thus vserves not only as adrivingelement for rotating the cleaner but as a support for the rearend of the oven to prevent the oven from sagging and'buckling thewall`8a. V It'will be observedalso that'as the series of offsets I'I of thearms I2 and I3 project alternately in opposite directions these offsetsContact at all times with the annular body walls of both the casing andoven and simultaneously clean both walls while assisting also to supportthe weight of the oven and its contents.

From the Vforegoing description, the construction, mode of operation andthe advantages of my improved stove pipe oven cleaner will be readilyunderstood without a further and ex' tended description, and it will beunderstood that, While the invention is herein shown in its preferredembodiment, changes in the form, arrangement and details of constructionof the parts of the cleaner may be made within the scope of the appendedclaims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a stove pipe oven having spaced outer and inner annular Wallsforming an outer casing, an inner 4oven chamber and an annular heatcirculatingmember therebetween, and spaced end walls closing saidannular walls respectively at one end of the oven, said end walls havingbearing portions .,oifset in opposite directions, a U-shaped rotaryscraper embodying scraper arms mounted for movement about the heatcirculating chamber and across portion connecting said arms and disposedin the space between said end walls, each of said arms being providedwith a plurality of crank-like stiffening and scraper offsets projectingtherefrom alternately in opposite directions, and in scraping andsupporting engagement with both the .annular walls of the casing andoven chamber at va plurality of points in the length thereof, and ashaft connected to said cross vportion of the scraper and journaled uponsaid end Walls so as to form a support for said end -of the oven chamberand provided with an operating icrank.

2. In a stove pipe voven 'having lspaced outer and inner annular wallsforming an outer casing, an inner oven chamber and an annular heatcirculating Achamber therebetween, and spaced end walls closing Vsaidannular walls lrespectively at one end of the oven, said end wallshaving bearing portions offset infopposite directions, `a rotary scrapermounted for rotation upon the latter-named en'd of the'oven and havingscraper arms movable around the annular chamber for removal of depositsfrom theannular walls thereof, a scraper operating shaft carrying saidscraper and journaled in said olfsetbearing portions of the end walls,.so as to'form a support for such end `of the oven chamber, andabutments on Vsaid shaft disposed .in the space between the offsets andengageable therewith to prevent longitudinal displacement of the shaft.

GEORGE H. SWEARINGEN.

